LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – A presidential visit means tighter security at Disney, by blocking off roads for the motorcade to changes at Magic Kingdom where President Barack Obama plans to visit.
VIEW PHOTOS: Obama visits Disney World
Disney officials set up tents backstage at the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday night to get the park ready for Thursday's presidential visit.
Obama will be speaking around 12:30 p.m. Thursday. He is expected to arrive in Orlando around 11:40 a.m. and leave at 2:15 p.m.
In order to provide adequate security Disney will be shutting down Main Street USA before the park opens at 9 a.m. Main Street is the primary thoroughfare in the Magic Kingdom.
Guests will go through a security check and scan their tickets, then enter the Magic Kingdom under normal protocol.
Disney employees will then route visitors through a backstage entrance, past dumpsters, offices, and an employee cafeteria. It is occasionally used when the park gets crowded. The bypass will allow the Magic Kingdom to operate as normal, while also allowing Obama to make his announcement promoting tourism.
Since park guests will be unable to watch the speech in person Disney will be showing a live video feed of the address inside the Hall of Presidents attraction.
Visitors can check out Obama's animatronic, which may be the closest they'll get to the president, even though the real one will only be a few hundred yards away.
One of the main points on Obama's speech will be how his administration will make it easier for international tourists from countries such as China and Brazil to obtain travel visas. Obama believes the United States could benefit economically by cutting wait times for potential visitors to obtain travel paperwork, White House officials said.
Fabiana Ruilova wanted to take her five year old son on a vacation to Florida, but she didn't realize how challenging the paperwork process was going to be. The resident of Sao Paulo, Brazil was surprised by the long wait to get a visa.
"It was tedious. It took a long time. I was so discouraged at one point I got upset," said Ruilova, speaking in Portuguese. "It took three months," Ruilova said.
It's a story repeated by thousands of tourists in countries around the world. In China, for instance, it can take half a year to plan a trip to the United States.
"So why can I get a visa in 48 hours and a Chinese person will need 48 days if not more," asked Abraham Pizam, Dean of the University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management. "We even hear it from our consulates, but they say their hands are tied."
Perhaps not for much longer. Obama is expected to announce at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Orlando Thursday a new program that will speed up the visa process. It would be especially helpful for tourists in nations with fast growing economies like Brazil, China, and India that have travel spending power.
"It would be much better," said Junior Pacheco, a building contractor in Orlando who's primary customers are Brazilians. "The economy here isn't very good, but in Brazil they come with good money. They spend a lot of money."
The president's plan may include recently authorized spending on video conferencing technology that would allow potential tourists to do their visa meetings locally, instead of traveling to a consulate. Central Florida tourism leaders estimate it could translate into hundreds of thousands of new visas a year.
In countries like Brazil, only four American consulate offices exist in a nation as large as the continental U.S.
"Let's say you make an appointment today, it's going to take you four months to get the interview," said Ariele Souza, a Brazilian waitress who works at the Cafe Madeiro Brazilian Steakhouse on International Drive. "You travel, and even then you just maybe get a visa."
The president is already being criticized by Republican supporters who believe his high profile visit to Disney is more of a campaign stop in a battleground state.
But the tourism industry seems united in support of visa reform.
"It will bring more dollars to Central Florida's economy," Pizam said.